Pentagon Dismisses Latest Iranian Threat to Stop Naval Carrier

U.S. Navy/Photographer’s Mate Airman Tina Lamb(WASHINGTON) — Iran’s latest volley in its ongoing dispute with the West won’t prevent the USS John C. Stennis from reentering the Persian Gulf, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

Stung by additional economic and political sanctions because of its illicit nuclear program, Iran has threatened to close down the Strait of Hormuz so that international oil shipments can’t get through.

Washington has said that any attempt to affect the transportation of oil will be met with swiftly.

Meanwhile, Iranian Army Chief Ataollah Salehi reportedly said that the USS John C. Stennis, which is now in the Northern Arabian Sea to help with the war effort in Afghanistan, won’t be allowed back into the Persian Gulf.

But Pentagon Press Secretary George Little responded that, “the deployment of U.S. military assets in the Persian Gulf region will continue as it has for decades.”

The Pentagon says that Iran keeps making idle threats because of the damage being done to its economy through the latest round of tough sanctions brought on by its ongoing nuclear ambitions.